Group Urges FAA to Publicize Safety Infractions of Carriers

A consumer group on Friday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to regularly publish a list of safety violations it finds at airlines to help travelers judge which carriers they want to fly.

“If that kind of list were published,” Jack Blum, president of the National Consumers League, said at a news conference, “every carrier in the country would be fighting to get off that list.”

Blum, in a written statement, said that “in an era of wide-open, cutthroat competition (caused by airline deregulation), consumers must be assured that a company is fully qualified to do business.”

FAA Withholds Response

FAA spokesman Fred Farrar said that the agency could not respond to the consumer league’s call for publication of a violations list until officials see a written description of the program.

Blum cited as reasons for concern the proliferation of hundreds of new air carriers since the industry was deregulated in 1978 and what he called the FAA’s inability to conduct adequate inspections of all airlines at current staffing levels.

Nearly 2,000 people died in air crashes during 1985--an international record--but a vast majority of the deaths were in accidents outside the United States and did not involve U.S. carriers.

A recent General Accounting Office study found that some airlines were getting few or no FAA inspections of some aspects of their operations. Blum said that based on those findings, he believes some airlines are cutting corners on safety and maintenance procedures.

Could Not Name Airline

When pressed, Blum said that he could not name any specific airline that was doing so.

Farrar said the agency agrees that more inspectors are needed and the Department of Transportation, the FAA’s parent body, has requested authority to hire an additional 500, which would bring the agency’s staff to about 1,200.